Millions of naira worth of products belonging to Nigerian Breweries were destroyed on Thursday following a road accident involving a truck that reportedly suffered a mechanical failure while ascending the Ori-Oke Mokola Hill in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The accident, which occurred along the busy Mokola–Cultural Centre corridor behind Premier Hotel, also left a commercial tricycle, popularly known as Keke Maruwa, damaged. However, no casualty was recorded.
Speaking at the scene of the accident, the General Manager of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA), Commander Ayoade Adeoye, attributed the incident to a mechanical fault that developed in the truck while it was climbing the steep hill.
According to Adeoye, the truck had experienced a similar mechanical problem on the same route about five days earlier, necessitating intervention by traffic management officials.
“The truck developed a fault while climbing the hill leading to the Cultural Centre at Ori-Oke Mokola. It had encountered a similar problem on this route about five days ago,” he said.
“While efforts were being made to move it, the vehicle suffered another mechanical failure and lost control together with the goods it was conveying.”
The OYRTMA GM disclosed that a substantial quantity of the brewery products was destroyed in the accident, resulting in losses estimated at several millions of naira.
Despite the scale of the incident, Adeoye expressed gratitude that no life was lost.
“To the glory of God, no life was lost. We only recorded damage to a Keke Maruwa, and fortunately, there was no driver or passenger inside the tricycle at the time of the incident,” he stated.
He noted that the affected road serves as one of Ibadan’s major commercial corridors and remains critical to business and economic activities within Oyo State.
Adeoye explained that traffic movement along the route would be temporarily restricted to enable the evacuation of the truck and the clearance of debris from the accident scene.
“The route leads to Ori-Oke Mokola, which is a major business and economic hub in Oyo State.
The road will be temporarily blocked while clearance operations continue. We have placed caution tapes around the area and deployed officers to manage traffic and direct road users,” he said.
He assured residents and motorists that normal traffic flow would be restored as soon as possible.
“By tomorrow morning, everything should have been removed and normal traffic restored,” he added.
Meanwhile, the OYRTMA General Manager issued a strong warning to operators of heavy-duty vehicles, urging them to avoid the steep Mokola Hill route due to the inherent risks associated with navigating the terrain.
“We advise truck drivers not to use this hill again. It is a very dangerous route for heavy-duty vehicles, and we do not want future incidents that could result in loss of lives,” Adeoye warned.
He further appealed to residents and motorists to cooperate with traffic officials and comply with all safety directives while the ongoing clearance operation continues.
The incident caused temporary disruption to traffic movement in the area, as officials worked to secure the scene and prevent secondary accidents.
Authorities have since intensified traffic control measures around the corridor pending the completion of evacuation and road clearance activities.